ARU/NZRU to refuse NH tours

Here's the latest news on Aus and NZ's reaction to France having the top 14 continue past May 31:

Wallabies dump north for Kiwi tour

| August 8, 2008

THE All Blacks playing a full-strength Waratahs team at the Sydney Football Stadium next season is being planned as a way to overcome the northern hemisphere disease of sending their B-grade line-ups here every June.
Angered by northern countries treating their southern tours with near contempt by not picking their best players, Australian Rugby Union chief executive John O'Neill yesterday proposed that the trans-Tasman neighbours take a dramatic new course.
It involves ignoring the north and having the All Blacks tour Australia during June to play three local provinces - Waratahs, Reds and Brumbies - followed by the Wallabies going to New Zealand to play the Crusaders, Blues and Hurricanes. Matches would be played on Tuesday and Saturday nights.
O'Neill said the idea came during a recent conversation with his New Zealand counterpart, Steve Tew, where they discussed their frustration with the June tours.
They had been further irritated by misguided International Rugby Board officials recently explaining that northern countries would from now on select their best for the June tours, because all domestic competitions in that part of the world would supposedly finish on May 31.
However, seconds later, during a telephone hook-up, a leading French official told O'Neill and Tew that their competition would end next year on June 6, meaning that if key local players were playing in the finals they would not be able to tour New Zealand and Australia.
France are scheduled to play two Tests in New Zealand and one in Australia next year. Two Italy Tests are also scheduled for Australia. Australia and New Zealand have other ideas.
"We've been confronted two years in a row with under-strength teams coming to Australia from the northern hemisphere. In 2007, Wales fronted up under-strength, and then this year the French showed up under-strength," O'Neill said yesterday. "Apart from the impact it has on the fans, the viewers at home, sponsors, broadcasters, and the look and the damage it does to the integrity of Test match rugby, the financial cost to the ARU over two years was $1.6 million."
O'Neill added that the ARU was "not obliged to accept an inbound team that doesn't comply with IRB regulation 9, which means best available".
"The alternatives we need to look at includes whether in that window we look at the Wallabies going to New Zealand, and playing the Blues, Crusaders and Hurricanes, and the All Blacks coming to Australia and playing the Reds, Waratahs and Brumbies," O'Neill said.
"Remember the Lions tour of 2001 �c Canberra Stadium packed, SFS packed, Brisbane packed. You are talking about a full-strength All Blacks side playing against a full-strength NSW team, and so forth. That would lure a crowd.
"We're not being Bolshevik about it. We are simply saying that we can't rely on the quality of the northern hemisphere teams. Our audience is disillusioned. We're hurting and we should be allowed to look at alternatives. We're looking to expand Super Rugby, and that's our commitment. When that happens it will fill the June window. That will hopefully be in place by 2010.
"But in the interim, you've got to say Wales 2007, France 2008 �c do we really want to insult the audience again?"
�Â¡ In other news, foreign players are expected to be allowed to appear for Australian Super 14 provinces from next year. ARU directors will shortly be asked to endorse a new foreign player policy that would allow each province to have what is expected to be one high-profile overseas performer.
The ARU board has agreed in principle to relax a regulation that prohibits players ineligible for Wallabies selection from playing with the four Australian Super teams. A final submission will be presented to the board for approval on September 5.[/b]

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Pretty interesting if you ask me. Personally I'd actually be quite interested in seeing the Brumbies and Tahs play the ABs, much more than watching **** English and French B sides get walked over.

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Pfft, the Force better get a look in here, it would make up for the lack of AB's games despite the fact we would wreck ourselves if it ever happened. Bloody O'Neill will screw us over to appease the Easties of course.

Pfft, the Force better get a look in here, it would make up for the lack of AB's games despite the fact we would wreck ourselves if it ever happened. Bloody O'Neill will screw us over to appease the Easties of course. [/b]

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I doubt they'd overlook the Force. Perth would be a guaranteed full house... they would have to send games there.

So now not only are the NZRU and ARU going to unfairly punish the FFR for what the French Clubs are doing, they're going to now screw over all the other major NH Unions, many of whom are now committed and have legally binding agreements in place to ensure that their best possible squads tour down under next season?

Wow, good going guys, are you deliberately trying to destroy what credibility you had before the announcement of fixtures for the Top 14 or is this part of some hidden hatred of the French?

I mean, what better way to say "we really don't understand how NH rugby works" than to completely screw over the wrong people in this controversial issue!

EDIT: BTW, I'm having a go at faceless Union dead wood here, obviously fans everywhere know how helpless the FFR are right now regarding this issue.

So now not only are the NZRU and ARU going to unfairly punish the FFR for what the French Clubs are doing, they're going to now screw over all the other major NH Unions, many of whom are now committed and have legally binding agreements in place to ensure that their best possible squads tour down under next season?[/b]

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Considering they have been screwing us over consistently for the past few years now sending weak squads it is more than warranted.

EDIT: BTW, I'm having a go at faceless Union dead wood here, obviously fans everywhere know how helpless the FFR are right now regarding this issue. [/b]

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I think this is reflective of general SH frustration at the structuring of Europe... In Europe there is no pyramid like in countries such as Aus and NZ, it's the clubs and then the national body and mostly they have nothing to do with eachother. It's f***ing retarded and something needs to be done about it because it's ruining the game.

On the plus side, there won't be any more pointless tours buggering things up for the clubs. While you're at it, scrap the Autumn internationals.

Summer tours have always been milking exercises designed to line the bigwigs coffers, harking back to the amateur days when that was the only way to make money.. Real rugby is played at club/regional level and that's where the real passion is.

I for one won't miss them (or autumn internationals should they suffer the same fate).

Last Monday in the Midi Olympique the FFR responsible declared that they would bring the best available players including thos who will have played the Top14 final rounds, the H-cup play-offs and Top14 play-off in a row. I wonder how these players can be fit with the long travel to antipodes and jet-lag not mentioning that there would be no more than three days of team training... The players that won't be involved in the Top14 final will travel sooner. Full strength team, on paper, can be play the first test but I wonder if this would be adviceable and it is likely that it will play the second test.

<div class='quotemain'>
EDIT: BTW, I'm having a go at faceless Union dead wood here, obviously fans everywhere know how helpless the FFR are right now regarding this issue. [/b]

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I think this is reflective of general SH frustration at the structuring of Europe... In Europe there is no pyramid like in countries such as Aus and NZ, it's the clubs and then the national body and mostly they have nothing to do with eachother. It's f***ing retarded and something needs to be done about it because it's ruining the game. [/b][/quote]

The history of development of Rugby is not the same in all countries you know.

Anyway this initiative may be positive in the end since it can trigger and speed up the reorganization of Test Rugby.

Yeah, maybe the unions will stop being so selfish and realize that the domestic games are just as (or even more) important then test rugby to a lot of people who are developing an interest in the sport. As these people are the future of the games existence, maybe the stuffy old farts should take notice.

On the plus side, there won't be any more pointless tours buggering things up for the clubs. While you're at it, scrap the Autumn internationals.

Summer tours have always been milking exercises designed to line the bigwigs coffers, harking back to the amateur days when that was the only way to make money.. Real rugby is played at club/regional level and that's where the real passion is.
[/b]

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Perhaps this explains where the disconnect here is... I think in general people in Aus, NZ and SA will tell you that while the club/regional scene is important, the REAL passion should be reserved for when you don your country's colours.
Generally this dynamic appears to be the reverse across most sports in Europe though.

<div class='quotemain'> On the plus side, there won't be any more pointless tours buggering things up for the clubs. While you're at it, scrap the Autumn internationals.

Summer tours have always been milking exercises designed to line the bigwigs coffers, harking back to the amateur days when that was the only way to make money.. Real rugby is played at club/regional level and that's where the real passion is.
[/b]

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Perhaps this explains where the disconnect here is... I think in general people in Aus, NZ and SA will tell you that while the club/regional scene is important, the REAL passion should be reserved for when you don your country's colours.
Generally this dynamic appears to be the reverse across most sports in Europe though.
[/b][/quote]

Well what I see in France is that there is definitively passion for both but we don't want to kill our clubs that are as old as Rugby in the name of the 10 test matchs that are played in a year. The elite was made of 80 clubs in the early 90's, now there are 30 professional clubs organised in two divisions. This required a lot of effort to restructure the elite Rugby. Some work is still needed and we may end up with 12 clubs only in the first division. Putting in danger the Club Rugby will put simply Rugby in danger.